Book Review: The Maltese Goddess

Reviewed By: Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

The Maltese Goddess     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Lyn Hamilton
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth   Archaeology
Series: Lara McClintoch # 2
Berkley Prime Crime; 1998; $5.99; 245 pp

Its been a long time since I've read a mystery of the classic style. While written in the present, this book took me back to my early Agatha Christie reading experiences as a girl, the exotic locale, the light hint of romance, the suspense of sinister shadows and mysterious strangers, a hint of colonial politics.

However I think the ending could have been better written. After we learn whodunnit, there are two additional chapters of the sort where all the dangling plot lines are discussed or theorized and tied up by the sleuth and/or official investigators. The final chapter did provide one last surprise, and evokes a smile at first but then I said to myself "I don't believe a certain thing would happen that way. Its not what that character would do in that situation." I suspect most others would react the same way. But it doesn't ruin the plot or the overall experience of the book.

Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM